Wednesday, July 31, 2013

So everyone knows you should be on social media and there is
a wealth of information about

what you should be doing on social media.But what shouldn’t you be doing?Here are a couple of my thoughts.

Don’t use social media just to use it.What’s your plan? What do you want to share
or accomplish? What’s your identity or online brand?

Don’t spew.Say what you
have to say but be brief and concise. Rambling doesn’t translate well in social
media (or anywhere else for that matter!).

Don’t over-promote.Sure, everyone slips in a plug now and then for their business or
favorite organizations. But, if all you do is promote,
promote, promote….you’ll be promoted right off someone’s follow list.

Don’t be obnoxious.True
in life and true online.If you’re
obnoxious in real life, get help because you won’t be going far.

Don’t ignore comments.Social media is meant to engage.We all get busy and sometimes get behind on responding to comments or
questions; just don’t make it a habit.

Don’t trash your employer, your teachers, your family members or
friends. Venting may feel good at the moment but if you think they
aren’t going to find out, you’re going to be surprised.And not in a very good way.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself.Unless you over-promote, spew, are obnoxious or ignore others. Enough
said.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

By: Cole Buergi, Vice President of Business Development, Leonard & Finco Public Relations

If you live in Northeast Wisconsin, you’ve no doubt heard
about the new Cabela’s store opening in Green Bay today. Whether it was print,
radio, TV or social media, there has been a continual buzz about the opening
for the past six weeks. This was no accident as months of planning went into
the effort to create the buzz.

Planning included:

Creating a targeted media
list – being sure to include specific reporters that cover hunting or the
outdoors.

Arranging media interview
schedules and learning what each outlet has an interest in covering.

Seeking opportunities for
the media to get involved in setting their story’s atmosphere.

As for the grand opening media activities, we had to ensure
enough Cabela’s staff was available to do the interviews as we had multiple
media outlets seeking interviews at the same time. It was vital to have several
team members prepared and available to accommodate the media’s live shot
time frames. Equally important was having a detailed schedule of when each reporter’s
live shots took place so everyone on the Cabela’s was aware of the timing.

We also planned for what areas of the store we wanted to
highlight and encouraged the reporters to focus on these areas. Of course,
reporters all want their own angles, but being able to provide them with ideas
helped us highlight parts of the store the media may have not thought about.

In addition, we worked with the reporters to help set the
mood. One radio reporter captured the sound of a bow being shot; two others
wore outdoor attire to help set the atmosphere for their stories. Another great
visual was one reporter feeding the fish in the trout tank. The trout swarmed
on queue as the reporter tossed in fish food while reporting live. (No, we
didn’t train the trout in advance.:))

The end result was Cabela’s received incredible media
coverage that went smoothly because of the advance planning.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Everyone wants good PR. But behind every successful PR
campaign is a well-thought out plan that is proactive in generating ideas, yet
flexible to be able to respond to change. So where do you start? Here are five
things to consider when putting your PR plan to work:

1. Be true to
your expertise. Journalists want to cover popular and emerging topics,
so publicize your expertise. Bring a new perspective to trending issues and you
can create a win-win scenario. There's no need to come up with your own
brilliant story idea:events already in
the news provide a useful time hook. Identify what you can bring to the
conversation and then you've got a way to piggyback on the story.

2. Keep it simple. Determine
what makes your company or product unique, and say it briefly. Write a catchy
email subject line or news release headline. Messaging must be short and sweet,
as you want to grab the media’s attention.

3. Be selective. Do
your research and target individual magazines and reporters. Look for reporters
that cover your industry and build a relationship with them. Send personalized
emails tailored for both their media outlet and individual beat.

4. Make content sharable. Hands
down, more people use social media networks to get and share news. So when
pitching a story, think about the additional materials you could provide to
enhance your idea. Photos, diagrams, and infographics are highly shareable on
social media networks and are often something that the media doesn’t have time
to create themselves.

5. Be easy to work
with. Be prepared with fact sheets, photos and experts to interview and
become a resource for the media. Help them make their stories happen.

With persistence and planning, good PR is almost always
covered because a good story has been well-told to the right people. Have you coordinated
a successful PR campaign? What worked for you?

Thursday, July 11, 2013

While the nation is watching closely as the George Zimmerman
trial continues in Florida, I had my own unique perspective on the justice
system this week – jury duty.

Those who’ve been contacted for jury duty know that the call
to the Jury Hotline the day before usually means you don’t have to report the
next day. In fact, that was the message for three of the four days of my jury
duty week. The call for Tuesday, however, was different and there I was
checking in with the bailiffs on Tuesday morning.

As I stood in the hallway waiting, I was thinking that I
hope the process goes quickly and I don’t get picked so I can get back to the
office. It also appeared that most of the others on the jury panel felt the
same way. I’m not sure if any of us really WANTED to be there, but most seemed
to feel civic responsibility to serve when called.

With fewer than 40 people making up the jury panel, I knew
the chances of my name being called for the initial 20-person jury pool were
greater than 50-50, so I really wasn’t surprised when the clerk called my name.
Sure enough, after questioning from the judge and attorneys, my name was called
a second time when the 12-member jury was announced for the one-day trial.

After opening statements, we heard from two prosecution
witnesses and one witness for the defense. After closing arguments from the
attorneys, the jury had the case by early afternoon.

While the testimony and arguments were interesting, the time
in the jury room was most fascinating to me. It was a diverse group – a
teacher, a cab driver, one retiree, a daycare center owner – and others. We
talked about the testimony and evidence, considered everything that was
presented to us. Everyone participated; everyone listened; no one dominated the
discussion. We took a look at all possibilities before rendering our verdict.

As a long-time reporter in my past life I spent a lot of
time covering the courts. I’ve always been impressed with the way the courts
operate in Brown County. Of course, you’ll always hear different arguments from
those who find themselves sitting at the defendant’s table.

Having now seen the courts from the perspective of the jury
box and jury room, my impression remains the same. The American judicial system
may not be perfect, but it’s probably the best you’ll ever find.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

If you have a strong audience for any of your social media
outlets, you have probably run into the dreaded troll. Haven’t heard of a
troll? Don’t worry… you will. A troll is someone who purposely posts rude and
inappropriate comments to provoke and draw in either the brand or its audience
into nothing more than a fight. It is what they live for. They use rude
language, profanity and say things that will definitely get under your skin and
make you angry. Why do these people exist? I don’t know – why do bullies exist?
Call it boredom, stupidity, whatever. The fact is that they are out there.

So how do you get rid of a troll once they plague your social
media site? There are a couple of schools of thought on this topic. It really
depends on what course of action you feel the most comfortable taking. Weigh
the options:

Ignore the troll.
If the one motivating factor for a troll is to pick a fight, ignoring the troll
might be the answer for him/her to go away because you aren’t taking the bait.
If a troll isn’t getting what they are seeking, they will most likely move on.

The one drawback to this is that after the troll leaves,
they have now left some ‘wonderful’
comments and posts that you and your audience would rather not see. Do some
damage control and go through every comment and post to make sure you’ve
cleaned up the mess and let your online community know what you are up to.

Delete or block the
troll. I think this is by far the most popular way to go, however, before
you hit the delete button, be sure you have your ducks in row. Make sure your
social media policy is up to date on the kind of behavior you will or will not
tolerate online and the actions you will take.

Just be mindful of deleting and blocking. While it can be
the best course of action, some people may get upset about being blocked and
you don’t want the troll bad mouthing your brand on other sites where you don’t
have the control. One way to help with this is to post why you blocked this
person to the rest of your online community. They will most likely support you
in the end and will back you up because, really, who likes a troll?

A word of caution: you have to know the difference between a
troll and an upset customer. If a poster has a legitimate gripe, then maybe there
is something you need to do. If they are fighting for the sake of a fight, you
might want to consider the options above.

Anyone out there encounter a troll? What course of action
did you take? I’d love to hear it!